Dinner and a Confession
by Lia Fae Tsuruga
Summary: Kyoko's going over to Ren's apartment to cook for him. Nothing new, right? But is that all the unsuspecting Ren will receive?


_**Note: I do not own Skip Beat**_

_**Well I had this idea nagging at me for a while, and well as you can see from my other two one-shots, I am really obsessed with love confessions, though this one implies a little more than just a confession. *wink wink* Lol nothing seriously perverted though it is implied. Well I hope you enjoy reading this story! :)**_

Ren's POV

I was sitting down on the couch, watching TV when there was a knock on my door. I stood up and walked to the door, looking through the peephole to see who would be knocking at this time of night. My eyes widened slightly when I saw who it was, and opened the door to see Kyoko, a warm smile on her face.

"Good evening Tsuruga-san, but I wanted to see and make sure that you were eating properly by cooking you dinner." she said, holding up the grocery bags she was carrying.

"Thank you, please come in." I said, stepping aside to let her in.

"Thanks for having me." She said as she entered, taking off her shoes and placing them together next to mine. I closed the door behind her and watched as she walked into the kitchen, knowing the layout of my apartment well since the time she had been my substitute manager. I followed her and casually leaned against the doorframe, my arms crossed in front of me as I watched her as she set the groceries on the table, taking off her black jacket to reveal her white blouse underneath. I then realized exactly what she was wearing.

Her white blouse was made of pure cotton and fit closely to her body, along with her black skirt that stopped just past her fingertips, leaving the rest of her slender legs for show. Her light auburn hair had gotten longer over the past year, and now reached past her shoulders, giving her the look of someone older, more mature. Yet when she looked at me with her amber eyes, I knew that inside she was still Kyoko, the one that loved stories of princesses and fairies. She noticed me watching her and tilted her head to the side, a look of small confusion on her face.

"Is there anything you need help with?" I asked, breaking the silence. Kyoko smiles and shook her head.

"No, it's alright. Why don't you go to the living room and watch some tv or something " She said. I stayed there for a moment more.

"Are you sure?" I asked, partially being the perfect gentleman and partially just finding an excuse to look at her more.

"Yes, I'm sure. Dinner will be ready soon." She said, her voice and eyes firm.

"Alright then." I said and smiled, then left the kitchen and went to the living room as told, sitting down at the sofa and watching an American movie on the tv. I had seen it before and so paid no attention to it as I instead listened to the sounds made in the kitchen by Kyoko as she cooked.

The sound of vegetables being chopped, along with the rustling of bags as she took out ingredients from the bags she had brought. Along with her soft footsteps, in a sort of rhythm as she walked to do some other sort of thing. I listened to these sounds, imagining in my mind for a few seconds that she were my wife, and she would cook dinner every night, always stay over, stay by my side. But I forced myself to stop these illusions. She looked at me as only her sempai, and nothing more. Though what was she thinking, arriving at a man's apartment wearing such revealing clothing? Even if she saw me as nothing more than a sempai, why couldn't she have some common sense? She was already seventeen, she needed to be more aware about herself. Yet her naiveness and purity was something that I loved about her, though it frustrated me at times. It simply showed she trusted me.

Yet even if she trusted me, would I be able to trust myself if this continued? My darker self lived for these moments, waiting for the time when he is able to come out, a carnivore with naughty thoughts of this pure naive girl in my kitchen. I often found myself forcing this part of me down, to maintain control and not break the delicate relationship we had. As I thought this time passed, and I only came back to reality when I heard the door open and saw Kyoko walk in, a wooden tray in her hands that contained our dinner. She smiled as she set the plates on the table in front of the couch, along with chopsticks. She sat down next to me on the couch. Close enough to be friendly, but far enough to be just friends.

"Itadakimasu." I said, taking a bite of the food displayed in front of me, as flavor enriched my mouth. I smiled and swallowed, amazed once again at how such a small girl could turn a simple meal and make it so delicious. "This is amazing Mogami-san." I said, smiling at her. "You could really become a professional chef if you wanted to." She blushed at the compliment, yet smiled in pride.

"Thank you, it makes me really happy to know that you like my food." She said, and started to eat as well. If only she knew that by saying those simple words she made my heart swell with happiness, and yet also sad at the same time, knowing that she wasn't mine. To distract myself I faced forward to watch the movie, looking out of the corner of my eye her as she ate, her face confused as she didn't understand a word that was said. The movie was in English after all.

"Umm, Tsuruga-San?" she asked, looking at me.

"Yes?" I asked, snapping myself out of watching the features of her face that was turning a light pink as she spoke the next words.

"Can you please explain to me what the movie's about? I don't understand what's going on." She said. I smiled and started to explain what the movie was about, and realized how oddly similar it was to our situation.

"It's about a young girl named Alexis that because her parents left her when she was little could not love. She grew older and then turned seventeen and started to work at a cosmetic company as a secretary, lying about her age in order to get the job. She was promoted to be the secretary of the head of the cosmetic company, James, who was four years older than her real age. The two started to work together, and James started to have feelings for Alexis, despite he already had a fiancé." I explained.

"It was an unrequited love." Kyoko said, growing serious for a moment but then becoming somewhat confused again. "But why would he, James, have a fiancé and then not have feelings for her? Didn't he love his fiancé?" She asked, becoming somewhat mad in her tone. She's probably thinking about him being a player, like that bastard Sho. I thought, the thought that she still thought about him after all this time infuriating me slightly, tempting the darker side of me to come out. It made me mad to know that he still occupied a space in her heart and mind. Yet I didn't let it show as I continued.

"It was an arranged marriage that was made while he was a small child. He never had a choice in the matter." At those words she calmed down, but then frowned.

"How sad, to not be able to be with the one you love." Her words pierced my heart. If only she knew that was how I felt. At that moment I wanted to tell her, to tell her my feelings about her aloud, not caring about the consequences afterwards. But I forced myself not to. How could I do something so selfish? If I did this then everything would be destroyed, and she wouldn't see me as even a sempai any more. Yet the expression on her face, it was so sad, so filled with sorrow, that I wondered what could cause her to feel so. Unconsciously I lifted my hand and reached over, caressing her cheek, the touch lighter than a feather as if she were a porcelain doll, even the slightest touch able to break her.

She paused at my touch, and looked up at me with surprised eyes. I froze then, hoping that I hadn't crossed the line. Please don't, please. God, if you can hear me, please don't have her hate me. I pleaded in my mind. I started to retreat my hand, to play it off as just a casual thing, when she grabbed my wrist in both if her hands, keeping my hand there. I looked at her surprised, not knowing why she would do such a thing.

"Tsuruga-san..." Her voice was quiet, fragile, as though she were about to break. The way she looked at me, with such sadness in her eyes, made me want to hold her to me, to destroy whatever was causing her so much sadness and to never let her get hurt again. Yet I couldn't do that. I couldn't, so I didn't move.

"Yes?" I made myself say. My voice was cautious, tentative, and inviting for her to tell me what was wrong.

"Tsuruga-san, I didn't just come here tonight to just cook you dinner." She said, unable to look directly at me. Instead she looked down at her knees, holding my hand. I didn't speak, not knowing how I could interpret those words. What did she mean? Did she want to ask me for help with something? Advice? Or perhaps, could she mean something more? She took my silence as shock, and continued, her voice somehow growing stronger, with more resolve. Yet unlike her voice, her body began to shake. Only slightly, barely visible, but I could feel her shake as she held my hand.

"Tsuruga-san, I came to tell you that I can't be your kohai anymore." At those words my heart skipped a beat. Had she found out? Did she hate me? "Tsuruga-san... I can't be your kohai anymore. . . . .because I love you." Right then my mind almost completely shut down. Only a single thought occupied my mind. Did I hear her right? Vaguely I saw her and heard her as she continued to speak. "I'm sorry... You must hate me now. I'll take my leave." She said, letting go of my wrist. That was what had brought me back to reality. Immediately I grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. She froze, unable to move.

"Kyoko." I said, the single word that was her name so important now, once it was said. She was facing away from me, and I couldn't see her face. "Kyoko, look at me." I said, my voice firm. She paused for a moment before shaking her head in a no. "Kyoko," I said, pulling her arm towards me. "Look at me." She turned, and I saw that on her face were tears, running down her cheeks. At the sight I immediately pulled her towards me, cupping her face with my palm, my other hand still on her wrist as I used my thumb to wipe away her tears.

"Please don't be so nice to me." She said, her voice barely more than a whisper, one last plea. I couldn't control myself and pulled her towards me then and wrapped my arms around her in an embrace, my face in the crook of her neck. Her tears still ran as she lay there, in my arms, her body so small in comparison to mine.

"Don't tell me to do that. Kyoko, please, don't tell me to stop being nice to you. Don't tell me to stop being nice to the person I love." I said, the words coming to me naturally. I had pictured this moment in my head so many times, but nothing could compare to this breathless reality. "Kyoko, I love you." I said, then looked right at her, right at her face as she looked at me, finally looking at me. I smiled the true smile that I always showed just in front of her, all the gentlemanly facade gone, as I was just myself. Was just Kuon.

Slowly, giving her time to be able to reject me I leaned down and brushed my lips on her's, the touch as light as a butterfly. I pulled back, watching how she reacted to my kiss. The tears continued to flow, and I didn't know what to do until she brought her hands around my neck and pressed her lips onto mine, accepting me. Finally, after so long, finally I kissed my beloved Kyoko, my hands on her back, bringing her closer to me as I did.

I needed more. Now that I held her in my arms, the crave for her was growing stronger. Vaguely I felt myself grab the remote and turn off the TV, then stand up and carry Kyoko bridal style in my arms, never stopping the passionate kiss as I led her to my room, kicking the door open and shut behind us.

OooO

Sunlight came in through the window, and slowly I woke up, raising my head from the soft pillows of my bed as I came into consciousness. I noticed the small warm body that lay in my arms next to me and smiled, softly kissing Kyoko's light auburn head, as I realized I had been dreaming the events of last night. I smiled down at my angel, as she was finally with me, finally mine. I lay back down on the soft pillows and closed my eyes, the simple presence of her able to make me fall once again into a peaceful sleep, as I dreamed about what would be our future together. I had a good feeling that sometime not so far from now I would need to go buy a wedding ring.

_**I really hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading!**_

_**-LIA**_


End file.
